Would You Like Productivaty From Scrap Employees.

Date: 11.10.09

Dear all,

In our unit, 10 to 12 old employees were working for 15 years. They were unproductive, had negative thoughts, were lazy, and treated their job as a pastime.

Subsequently, we decided to teach them a lesson - either be productive or quit the job. We first removed them from their current locations and assigned them new tasks such as housekeeping, barrel shifting, and working on different reactors on different days.

After some time, most of them grew tired of the new responsibilities and could not perform efficiently. Within 2 months, most of them chose to quit their jobs. However, a few adjusted themselves and became productive.

If unproductive old employees are working in your unit, you can apply this approach - either help them become productive or encourage them to resign.

Thanks,
Anil Jangid

Good work, Anil. I am sure you will get an increment and promotion. On a second thought, how can someone be lazy for 15 years and the company still exists? HR and Management should never use words like "Let's teach them a lesson," as it sounds negative. Instead, it should be, "Let's involve them as company owners and let them own their salary every month."

All the best,
ukmitra

Hi Anil,

I don't want to say anything about what you have done, but have you gone through why they are acting like this? I know if they have been doing the same type of work for 15 to 20 years, they will be fed up. It was your duty to find out the reasons why they are behaving like this. It's a lack of motivation.

Regards,
Sayali S.

Hi all,

I really don't understand how a professional like you can refer to an employee as scrap...

I agree with you, the language, tone, and attitude towards loyal people, and calling them scrap, show immaturity. First, you must get motivated. :icon7::?:

Ensure proper paragraph formatting:

I agree with you, the language, tone, and attitude towards loyal people, and calling them scrap, show immaturity. First, you must get motivated. :icon7::?:

Hi all,

How do you and your company address the issue of parting ways with an employee who has dedicated 15 years to your organization but is now deemed dispensable to you? Utilizing technology to assess and manage employee performance is crucial. If an employee is underperforming, it is essential to identify the root cause of the issue and work towards a resolution. This situation may indicate a flaw in your Performance Management System.

Thank you.

Hi all,

If Anil has done something, do not criticize his work. You may voice your opinion, but do not judge others' work. Sometimes, saying words of motivation is easy, but in practical life, it becomes tough, and people may use the wrong words with employees. Ultimately, when employees leave the company, it falls on HR to address and correct these issues.

Anil, we may consider offering VRS or some other option for non-productive employees. In my opinion, the option was good; however, when writing, we must be careful about our emotions.

Thanks,
Lalit

Dear Jangid.Anil1967,

I have gone through your mail and replies thereto by our other colleagues. In my humble view, bro, you have missed a golden opportunity. Keeping in view the bigger picture in perspective, would it not be appropriate that a proper communication channel ought to be applied? The point I am trying to put across is that for quite many years there was stagnation in the organization, meaning thereby that the otherwise possible productive Human Resources predictably, on account of reasons attributable to the management, were neglected for quite long. Further, if we do a further analysis, what was the objective of the whole exercise - either the short or long term objective of the organization are fulfilled or keeping in view the changed scenario the unimportant part of manpower be shunted out.

Profit orientation is one part, but fulfilling the social obligation is another. By giving 15 valuable years of their lives, they have shown unblemished affinity (the organization belongs to them as to the Management as well). You have not mentioned even a single person who has understood or appreciated the management's point of view, or on the other hand, what seems to me is that management has also used you as a tool and will not shy away from applying the same principle on you if, unfortunately, God forbid, the same situation crops up for you as well.

Forgive me if you feel that the discussion is getting personal, but what is the positive of initiating this thread - boasting of achieving something at the cost of bread and butter of persons who have given 15 years of their lives, not to mention the fates of families associated with them. The image one gets from your mail is that either you are with us or you are liable to be thrown out as no dissent is permissible. It is evident that you wanted to change what was prevailing for the last 15 years in just two months - is it not drastic? Imagine if you are being shunted out in the next 15 minutes and are asked to do the secretarial, IT, legal, or finance assignment or threatened to be shown the door. Isn't it a failure on the part of the management to come out with anything positive to motivate them or to accommodate these people "amicably," or if it was not possible, they should have been asked to get relocated to a new assignment in a more "humane manner."

Dear Anil,

First, you must understand that employees are the assets of an organization. You shouldn't refer to them as scrap; instead, you can describe them as non-performers. As a professional HR professional, you must use fair language, and remember, it should never hurt someone.

Regards, Murali N HR Executive i-Net Solution

I don't understand how employees who worked for 15 years for a company can suddenly turn out to be 'scrap' or 'unproductive'! It is also amazing to note that it took a long 15 years to realize that they are unproductive, and you got rid of them by engaging them in works that demotivated them.

I think you have to introspect your work situation. Your work environment might have gone through a drastic change, and the ordinary employees could not have adapted to this change. Did you take enough effort to train your employees who were/are serving the organization for many years?

I think we need to understand the fact that when management introduces some change, it's meaningless to expect that ordinary and less educated employees adapt to change so fast. We need to prepare them well for any future change and educate and train them to adapt themselves to the new environment. Management has a greater responsibility here to motivate every employee and educate them well for future changes. Productivity doesn't just appear like 'one gets enlightenment.'

Hope you all agree with me.

Regards,
Shijit.

Hello, I am from a voice-based telecom call center. I have a high attrition rate at my organization. We focus on the interview process, panel members, post-training interaction, and counseling for irritated employees. Unfortunately, we are unable to control the attrition. Kindly help me with any suggestions.

Hello,
Though I could understand your dilemma, it is rude to say that they were unproductive. No company can keep unproductive workers for such a long period. Doing the same type of job without any motivation and appreciation could also be a factor. Maybe an open talk could have reduced the tension. Losing a job is such a pain!!

Regards,
Kalyani

Hi,

After going through the various reactions and feedback to the original post, I feel the original intention of the company was to lay off these people. Since they have been working for the company for 15 long years, the company did not want to be seen as one that does not value its employees. What does it do then? It asks HR to take action.

HR draws a conclusion that they are unproductive or non-performing employees of the company. So what does it do? Instead of finding the root cause of the problem, it just moves them to a different department/section/job role (most probably without any discussion) because it wants productivity or so it has projected. The bottom line is, moving these people to roles that are either beneath their skills or to humiliate them. The people either felt humiliated or could not cope with the new role. Hence, some of them chose to quit to end the humiliation, and the others chose to adjust to the new situation either due to desperation (if they are aged, then chances of getting another job in times of recession are bleak). The end result: the Company, through HR, achieves its goal.

We did not expel them; they left of their own accord. It was part of the job rotation process. I mean to say, it was a new assignment for them to prove their efficiency. I regret to say that those who stayed in our unit were hardworking, while the rest left or quit the job. Where does the question of motivation arise?

Mr., this is not good. I think you have done wrong, and it is your fault. You should train them properly instead of what you have done? Try to be a good trainer and think about the problem, not a slaughter.